One day after announcing its official beer sponsorship with Carlsberg, the Football Association has made rival beer-maker, Budweiser, the title sponsor of The FA Cup. Under terms of the three year deal, Budweiser will replace German energy services provider, E.ON, as the Lead Partner of what will now officially be known as The FA Cup with Budweiser. The deal is believed to be worth around $13 million a year.

"Like The FA Cup, Budweiser has a proud heritage and a long history of being involved in football," Alex Horne, FA General Secretary, said. ""Furthermore, given the global reach of this sponsorship, we will see The FA Cup promoted around the world like never before which is great for the fans and the players."

“AB InBev is a long-standing supporter of football around the world," Chris Burggraeve, Chief Marketing Officer at AB InBev, said. "We share The Football Association’s ambitions to showcase the tournament globally, uniting the millions of fans around the world who anticipate The FA Cup each year."

The search for a new sponsor intensified after E.ON announced in 2009 that it would not renew its four-year FA Cup deal following the 2010 season. After publicly announcing it would not renew the deal, the German energy firm subsequently agreed to a one year extension with the FA, which came to an end last Fall.

Today's announcement helps Budweiser build on its investments in the sport of soccer, which include a 25 year history with FIFA and the World Cup.